Salsola
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 Salsola tragus, habit
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About 100-130 species; see text |
Salsola (Saltwort*, Tumbleweed or Russian thistle) is a genus of herbs, subshrubs, shrubs and small trees in the family Amaranthaceae, native to Africa, Asia, and Europe. They typically grow on flat, often dry and/or somewhat saline soils, with some species in saltmarshes. Recent genetic studies (Pyankov et al., 2001) have however shown that the genus as traditionally circumscribed is paraphyletic, and many species are likely to be transferred to other genera in the future.
* Note that the name Saltwort is also used for the unrelated genus Batis.
In several annual species, those known popularly as "tumbleweeds", the plants break away from their roots in the autumn, and are driven by the wind as a light, rolling mass, scattering seed far and wide. The seeds are produced in such large numbers that the plant does not bother with protective coatings or food reserves for the coiled plant embryos.
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[edit] Salsola as invasive species
Several species, but most notably the central Asian S. tragus, are invasive outside their native range. They have become particularly abundant in parts of North America, where they are listed as noxious weeds by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The salt-tolerant genus was first reported in the United States around 1877 in Bon Homme County, South Dakota, apparently transported as a stowaway in flax seed imported by Ukrainian farmers. South Dakota proved too harsh and dry for growing flax, but by 1900, Salsola had colonised as far west as the Pacific Coast. It was also actively introduced by the U.S.D.A., under the impression that cattle might be induced to eat it in hard times during droughts. Palatability of the young shoots is considered to be fair. Cattle, sheep, and horses will eat it, if nothing better is available. Small rodents and Pronghorn also graze on the young shoots. Tumbleweed thrives wherever land use has disturbed the soil. It can be seen in Death Valley, California and in Colorado at elevations of 8500 feet (2600 meters).
Tumbleweed has naturalized to the point where it is regarded by many American people as native, changing the North American Great Plains plant community forever. It is controlled with mass applications of herbicides. Amusingly, tumbleweed is such a common symbol in Westerns, where it is used to indicate an abandoned area, that it is generally associated with the American Old West, and western films, despite its Ukrainian origin. "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" was a hit for the cowboy singing group Sons of the Pioneers:
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- "See them tumbling down
- Pledging their love to the ground
- Lonely but free I'll be found
- Drifting along with the tumbling tumble weed
Tumbleweed breaks away from its roots in the autumn, and is driven by the wind, as a light, rolling mass, over the fields and prairies, scattering its seeds far and wide. Prairie tumbleweed produces its seeds in such profusion that the plant doesn't bother with protective coatings or food reserves for the coiled plant embryos. The deep, ineradicable taproot survives to grow again the following season.
Tumbleweed thrives wherever land use has disturbed the ecosystem. It can be seen in Death Valley, California and in Colorado at elevations of 8500 feet.
One little known fact about Salsola is that when in tumbleweed form, it is known to make a high pitch sound followed by a lower "brassy" sound when picked up the wind. This is usually mistaken for the sound of a whistle and a harmonica, especially in the American old west films discussed above.[citation needed]
Salsola species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including The Nutmeg and the Coleophora case-bearers C. klimeschiella, C. parthenica, C. poeciliella (recorded on S. oppositifolia) and C. salsolella (feeds exclusively on S. vermiculata).
[edit] Salsola as food
The leaves and shoots of many species are edible, especially when young and tender, and some are grown as vegetables, often used for salads, sushi, or as a garnish. The most commonly eaten European species is Salsola soda known in Italy as Barba di Frate. In Japan, S. komarovii is a crop of moderate importance, known locally as okahijiki (literally "land hijiki").
The seeds are also edible, although difficult to collect in quantity, and are sometimes ground into flour.
[edit] References and external links
- Pyankov, V. I., Artyusheva, E. G., Edwards, G. E., Black, C. C., & Soltis, P. S. Phylogenetic analysis of tribe Salsoleae of Chenopodiaceae based on ribosomal ITS sequences: Implications for the evolution of photosynthesis types. Amer. J. Bot. 88: 1189-1198 (2001). Available online here.
- Tumbleweeds shown in a new light.
[edit] List of Species
The 100-130 species in the traditional view of the genus include the following selection:
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